You have them in all shapes and sizes. One in the shape of a Christmas tree with shiny gold letters, the other with a beautiful Christmas scene drawn in the style of the late Anton Pieck. These are Christmas cards and Drenthe receives and sends a lot of them.
Research by commercial digital Christmas card seller Kaartje2go shows that Drenthe receives the most Christmas greetings. According to the same study, residents of Drouwen are the leaders in sending Christmas cards.
“Really? You said it,” a resident of Drouwen responds with a shrug. And that came as a surprise to many more residents of the village, according to a small round of questions in the village. “I didn’t know, but I like it,” says another.
How many cards do they send in Drouwen? “I sent less than twenty cards this year,” says a woman playing pétanque at the village hall. “It used to be more. I have Facebook where I send most of my Christmas greetings these days. That’s the easiest and cheapest.”
“We send around forty a year at Christmas,” says one couple. “But we may still be late and we will send another card in January.” A door further away, the Christmas cards still have to be sent. “I’m going to send them to family and friends. I have also already received a few from neighbors, so they will all get one in return, of course.”
Mrs. Beerta takes the cake with a hundred Christmas cards. She sends so-called diamond painting cards, on which she sticks colored stones on them. “A card like that will take me a while. I’ve just finished the cards for the bridge club, now I still need about ten.”
She continues laughing: “So I’m going to finish it before Christmas.”